On the fourth day of his probationary period, in the afternoon, a stylishly dressed but sour faced female customer broke the harmonious atmosphere of the shop.
“What is going on with this coffee?
The acidity is completely wrong!
I ordered it slightly acidic, but this is almost like lemon juice!”
The woman’s voice was sharp and mean, drawing the attention of the entire shop.
Enomoto Azusa hurried forward to communicate with her, but after several unsuccessful attempts, she was left flustered by the woman’s retorts.
Watching this scene, Shirakawa felt so nervous he could barely breathe, his hands and feet turning cold.
But seeing that Enomoto Azusa was on the verge of tears, he gritted his teeth, summoned the greatest courage of his life, and walked over.
“U-Um…
Miss…”
Shirakawa started stammering, his voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, “Are…
are you…
also dealing with something troubling?”
Drawing on his own experience of “unemployment,” he clumsily comforted her, “I…
I was also fired from my company a few days ago, and at the time, I felt like nothing was going right and everything made me angry…”
The woman, who had been looking to cause trouble, felt her heart soften as she looked at the young man before her, whose eyes were clear and who seemed even more nervous than she was.
“I got cheated on…”
She found herself inexplicably treating him as someone she could confide in.
As the woman spoke, tears fell, and she tearfully recounted her experience of being betrayed by her boyfriend of many years.
In the end, with Shirakawa’s clumsy comfort and the tissues he offered, the female customer wiped away her tears.
Not only did she stop complaining about the coffee, but she also pulled the largest denomination bill from her wallet and tucked it under the cup as a tip, praising Shirakawa to the boss upon leaving as an “angel-like employee.”
Enomoto Azusa looked at Shirakawa, her eyes filled with stars of admiration, as if she were looking at a hero who had saved the world.
Meanwhile, Conan Edogawa in the corner was completely shocked.
His mouth hung open, and he nearly dropped the juice cup in his hand.
He felt he had gained a brand new, more terrifying understanding of the word “PUA.”
(In chinese slang pua means manipulative or generaly a gaslighter)
This was no longer just psychological manipulation; it was practically a dimensional strike!
Over the few days of his probationary period, Shirakawa’s professional competence had made a qualitative leap.
Under Enomoto Azusa’s hands-on, attentive guidance, he was now able to independently handle the entire process of taking orders, preparing sandwiches and simple drinks like coffee, and serving customers.
Yet, his social anxiety was like a seal welded deep into his soul, unchanged in the slightest.
Especially when handing the bill to customers.
Shirakawa would always instinctively lower his head, his gaze fixed firmly on his own toes, completely unable to meet the customer’s eyes, and would only whisper the amount on the bill in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz.
But in the eyes of the customers, especially the female ones, it was an entirely different scene.
“Did you see that?
He’s blushing again!
So cute!”
“He’s just like a startled little puppy; it makes you want to hold him and pet him!”
“I can’t take it, I can’t take it, my heart is going to explode!”
During afternoon tea, a table of young female customers watched Shirakawa deliver the bill and then hurry away as if fleeing, unable to help but whisper to each other, their faces glowing with maternal affection.
One of the girls pulled a ten thousand yen bill from her wallet and handed it to Shirakawa.
Shirakawa took the money, lowered his head, carefully counted out the change at the register, and then held it with both hands, respectfully handing it back to her.
“No need for change,” the girl said with a grin, waving her hand and insisting on shoving the change back into Shirakawa’s hands.
“This is for your snack money, make sure you eat well~”
“Eh?
B.but…” Shirakawa thought she had made a mistake and wanted to insist on giving her the change.
“No buts,” the girl’s companion chimed in.
“If we tell you to take it, then take it.
This is a small token of affection from your big sisters!”
Shirakawa stood there clutching the wad of bills, flustered, his cheeks flushed bright red.
Even though he was already 20, he was probably about the same age as these ‘big sisters’ who look no older than him.
But his lack of experience in dealing with women left Shirakawa at a loss for words.
Every time this happened, Shirakawa felt like he was ‘selling his soul for money.’
And this flustered, helpless look of his once again caused the table of female customers to let out a series of suppressed squeals.
Over the past few days, the tips Shirakawa received just this way totaled nearly 100,000 yen, almost half of Enomoto Azusa’s monthly salary.
Enomoto Azusa sighed, half envious and half joking, “Shirakawa-kun, if you keep this up, when the boss comes back, he’ll have to change the name of the shop to ‘Shirakawa Café’!”
“It’s all thanks to Miss Azusa’s teaching,” Shirakawa hurriedly waved his hand modestly, his eyes full of sincerity.
“Without Miss Azusa, I surely would have been fired on the first day.”
This heartfelt gratitude made Enomoto Azusa beam with joy, as if the exhaustion from working for days had been swept away.
The smile on her face was many times brighter than usual, and she worked with even more energy, her gaze toward Shirakawa filled with the pride of “my junior is the best in the world.”
Shirakawa’s popularity soon spread throughout the nearby neighborhood.
“Have you seen that new handsome employee at Café Poirot?
He’s so handsome and shy, he’s an absolute gem!”
“I’ve heard, I’ve heard!
I went to see him yesterday, and he’s even more handsome in person than the rumors say!”
Many people made a special trip to Café Poirot just to “get a look at that shy, handsome employee,” causing business at the shop to be exceptionally booming.
The fifth day of his probationary period.
An unexpected pair of customers walked into the shop.
“Mr.
Shirakawa!”
There was a hint of cheerfulness in Ran Mouri’s voice.
Beside her followed a girl with short, tea colored hair, wearing a headband, and dressed in a stylish and beautiful outfit.
The young lady of the Suzuki Financial Group, Suzuki Sonoko.
Ran Mouri had come specifically to cheer on Shirakawa, who was working.
And the moment Suzuki Sonoko saw that figure behind the counter, her eyes immediately turned into two sparkling hearts.
Clatter*
The shopping bags she was carrying, printed with luxury logos, dropped to the floor with a clatter.
“Oh my god!
Ran!
Where did you dig up such a top tier handsome guy!”
Suzuki Sonoko let out an earth-shattering shriek, so loud that all the customers in the café turned to look in unison.
She completely ignored Conan Edogawa, who was sitting at a booth nearby, drinking juice with a speechless expression.
“You actually kept this hidden from me!
You’re so mean!”
Suzuki Sonoko dashed to the counter in one stride, like a female leopard that had spotted its prey.
She grabbed the hand of Shirakawa, who was wiping a cup, and pulled hard, dragging him out from behind the counter and right in front of her.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.
This skin, this face, this figure…”
Suzuki Sonoko looked Shirakawa up and down with the gaze of someone appraising a national treasure, clicking her tongue in wonder as if admiring a peerless work of art.
This sudden, fierce onslaught left the socially anxious Shirakawa stunned.
“Sonoko!
Y-you’re being too rude!”
Ran Mouri, both embarrassed and anxious, hurried forward to pull away her best friend, who had already entered “fangirl mode.”
But as soon as her hand touched Suzuki Sonoko, a sour, strange emotion that she hadn’t even realized herself welled up in her heart.
It was as if…
her cherished treasure had been snatched away by someone else.
In the corner, Conan Edogawa watched this chaotic scene with cold eyes, letting out a sneer in his heart.
Hmph, running into someone like Sonoko—with her off the charts initiative, skin thicker than a city wall, and her being a top-tier gossip-loving fangirl.
Let’s see how you keep up the act now!